At the end of June I had the chance to spend a few days at Rathbun Lake in southern Iowa, joining my wife’s extended family for a reunion. Of course, even on vacation I couldn’t escape my research. In a part of Iowa most famous in religious history for being part of the Mormon Trail, I turned … More Pietism as Instincts, or It’s More Than Old Churches in Rural Iowa
Yesterday I was asked to sign a copy of our book on Pietism and higher education, an invitation that was at once A rare honor Mildly embarrassing — since I’m terrible at coming up with meaningful inscriptions and uncomfortable writing in cursive A reminder that it’s time to move on to a new project As it happens, I’ve … More A Pia Desideria for the 21st Century?
While I wrap up grading, I’ll be sharing some highlights from this spring’s blogging, starting with this Easter Monday meditation. “We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as a message about our future with him in heaven,” wrote Roger Olson at his blog for Easter Sunday, “but we too often neglect the other dimension of Easter: that a … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Expectation and Joy
4/23/15 – On episode #2 of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, I’m joined by theologian Christian Collins Winn for a conversation about civility, academic freedom, being Baptist, ACC basketball, and why Pietists like Philipp Spener and the Blumhardts have “hope for better times.” Check out Christian’s book with Roger Olson, Reclaiming Pietism, and the collection he edited with John Drury, Karl Barth … More Thursday’s Podcast: Hope for Better Times
“We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as a message about our future with him in heaven,” wrote Roger Olson at his blog for Easter Sunday, “but we too often neglect the other dimension of Easter: that a new life can be experienced now even in the face of inevitable death.” (Hey, have I mentioned that Roger will be … More Expectation and Joy: A Benediction for Easter Monday
I’m still a bit staggered that scholars as gifted as John Fea, Rhonda and Douglas Jacobsen, John Schmalzbauer, and Amos Yong would think highly enough of our book on Pietism and Christian higher education to endorse it. But my heart was specially warmed that Houghton College president Shirley Mullen focused so much of her endorsement on how the book was written: … More Pietist Vision Previews: “Pietist not just in content but tone”
Here… • Who are the most significant Americans of all time? (Is that even a useful question to ask? If so, how do we answer it?) • So many people to thank who helped shape our new book on Pietism and higher ed… Just over three weeks till it hits book shelves! (And it’s already got … More That Was The Week That Was
I’ve always been particularly fond of the virtue of hope. Here in the Christian academy it tends to be overshadowed by faith (that’s what we integrate with learning, after all), and while hope too abides, the “greatest” of the three is love. But it was hope that was at the center of two of the most influential books in … More A Week of Listening: Allan Boesak on Hope and Her Daughters
Today let me invite readers to listen to a different kind of voice. While the artist Makoto Fujimura was speaking the night before the grand jury decision and subsequent protests in Ferguson, his reflection on faith, beauty, truth, and — above all — hope couldn’t have been more timely in light of what was happening in Missouri. Invited to … More A Week of Listening: Makoto Fujimura on Hope, Beauty, and Justice
Twenty-five years ago this Sunday, about 20,000 people from the east side of Berlin walked over to the west. Of course, this kind of population movement happens every day in every city in the world, as urbanites go to work, eat out, visit friends, attend plays, etc. But Berlin of 1989 was a famously bifurcated city, with a 28-year old wall … More Twenty-Five Years after the Wall
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